John m



(No Model.) 3

.J. M. WEBSTER. FILE BOX.

No. 536,673. Patented Apr. 2, 1895.

UNITED STATES PATENT Onnien.

JOHN M. WEBSTER, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO MAX S. GOLDSMITH,

OF SAME PLACE. I

FILE-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 536,673, dated April. 2, 1895. Application filed September 5, 1894. Serial No. 522,190. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN M. WEBSTER, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and 5 State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in File-Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to. file boxes or drawers for holding papers, bills, &c. Its object [O is to provide a cheap, simple device wherein the papers are held firmly between the front of the case or box and a movable follower board, which is readily locked to clamp the papers and as readily released for the re- !5 moval or insertion of the same. This object I attain by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in connection with which the invention will be first fully described and then particularly referred to and pointed out in the claims.

Referringto the drawings, in which like parts are indicated by similar reference letters wherever they occur throughout the various views, Figure 1 isa side elevation of the i 2 device with the follower board thrown to the vertical position and locked in place. Fig. 2 is a top or plan view of the same, with the locking lever thrown down to release the follower board. Fig. 3 is a detailed view in vertical central section through the follower board and line a a: of Fig. 4, the locking lever being in the same position as shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the box, the parts being in the same position as in Figs. 1

3 5 and 3. Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the carrier for the follower board, the locking levers being removed. Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating the blank from which the carrier, Fig. 5,

- is formed up Fig. 7 is a detailed plan view 4o illustrating a modified form of the board carmen The box or drawer, A, as shown, is formed of sheet metal, having side flanges, a and a, turned up from thebase, and upright por- 4 5 tions, or and a The flanges are notched so as to overlap each other when the front is turned up at a right angle to the base, and the corners are secured in any suitable manner, preferably by riveting, as shown at a Fig. 1.

The upright and base are braced by side .Suitable material.

rails, B, which are secured to the flanges, a and a, the rails being bent at a right angle at b, to make the rear end of the base.

The case, so far as described, does not differ from those in common use and, while I have shown the base and uprights of sheet metal, it is obvious that they may be formed of any The follower board, 0, is made to pass freely between the side rails and is also of ordinary construction.

D, Fig. 5, is the carrier which supports the follower board and which is secured to it by screws passing through it into the board. This carrier for the board is preferably formed of 155 sheet metal, first cut out to the form shown in Fig. 6. The centralportion has lugs, 01, turned up from the body to pass between lugs turned inward from the latch, E, to serve as bearings for the pivot which connects the latch to the carrier. There are also turned up from the side bars of the piece, D, lugs, d, between which are pivoted the lockinglevers,

F, and the ends of the bar are perforated at (1 to pass over the rails, B, to support the 7 piece, D, with its follower board attached, upon the rails, while permitting it to slide freely back and forth when the levers are turned to the unlocked position, as seen in Fig. 2. The levers, E and F, are also formed up of sheet metal, the lever, E, having an overturned thumb piece, e, at the top for convenience in throwing it to the locked or unlocked position.

The inturned lugs of the lever, E, near the lower corners, are perforated at e, to receive the pivot pin which passes through these perforations and the perforations in lugs, d, and also perforated at e to receive the pin or re- 4 reduced end of the locking levers, F. The 0 side lugs of the levers, F, are triangular and perforated near the angle to receive the pivot pins y, which pass through the lugs, f and also through the perforations in the lugs of the locking lovers, to serve as fulcrums for 5 said levers, F.

The pins,f, on the inner end of the lovers,

F, enter perforations, e in the latch or lever, E, and the ends of the levers, F, bear firmly against the inside walls of the rails, B, when the levers are turned to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3, thus clamping the rails between the ends of the lovers, F, and the outer wall of the perforations, e in" the carrier, D. When the latch or lever, E, is turned down to the position shown in Fig. 2, the pins, f, are carried inward and the outer ends of said levers drawn away from the bars, B, thus releasing the carrier, so that the carrier with its follower board attached, may freely slide along the rails, 13.

In the modification shown in Fig. 7, D, is substantially the same as the carrier shown in Fig. 5, except that the central lugs, cl,- are omitted and the inner arms of the levers, Ff, are made longer, and springs, f, are coiled around the pivot pin,f, their arms extending inward and exerting an outward pressure upon the inner arms of the levers, F, to automatically press the outer ends of the levers against the inner faces of the bars, B. The carrier and follower board are released from the bars by pressing inward upon the inner ends of the levers, when the carrier and follower board may he slid back and forth, and when the pressure of the finger or thumb is released from the ends of the levers, the springs will throw the outer ends in contact with the rails, B, and lock the follower board in position.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of the base, the end upright, side bars secured to the base and said upright, the carrier, D, the follower board secured thereto, the ends of said carrier which project beyond the edge of the follower board being perforated to pass the rails and having outwardly turned lugs to receive locking 1evers, the levers pivoted between said lugs and having their outer ends adapted to be brought against the side rails, and means such as shown to force the outer ends of said levers firmly against the inner faces of the rails to lock the'follower board rigidly in place, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination of the base, end uprights, and side rails secured to the base and upright, forming the file box, the carrier, D, the follower board secured thereto, the ends of said carrier which project beyond the edges of the follower board being perforated to pass the rails, the levers, F, pivoted to the carrier and having pins,f', on their inner ends, the lever, E, also pivoted to the carrier between the innerends of the levers, F, having its lower lugsperforated to receive the pins, f, of said levers, whereby the outer ends of the levers, F, are brought firmly against the inner faces of the rails to lock the follower board rigidly in place when the lever E is thrown up, and to release the carrier when the lever E is thrown down, substantially as shown and described.

3. In a locking device for the follower board of file boxes such as described, the combination of the board carrier D, having outwardly turned lugs, d and d, and their ends perf0- rated at CF, to pass the side bars of the box or case, the levers, F, pivoted between the lugs, d, of the carrier, having pins,f', projecting through their inner ends, the lever, E, the pivot pin,- e', pivoting the levers to the lugs, d, the outer corner of said lever being perforated at 6 to receive the pins,f, projecting from the inner ends of the levers, F, combined and arranged to operate substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

JOHN M. WEBSTER.

Witnesses:

GEO. J. MURRAY, EMMA LYFORD. 

